“A man that hath friends must show himself friendly…” (Proverbs 18:24).

I’ll call her “Harriet.” Harriet would sit on the steps of her front porch and scream at the children as they walked past her house. She would tell them, “I own this space. Get off my property.” The “space” upon which the children were walking was the edge of the road that ran in front of her house. She was the most unfriendly person in the entire neighborhood. People tried to help her but would be met with, “Get off my porch!” or “Get away from my door!” She was mean, cantankerous and just downright unfriendly. Then the day came when she told someone, “I’m moving out of this town. No one is friendly around here!” True story! Obviously “Harriet” was an extreme case. But it makes me think just a little bit today.

As a believer, I am to function as salt and light in a very dark world, according to Matthew 5. It would seem to me that to best function in that capacity, I need to trust the Holy Spirit and yield to the Word of God to help me become a person who does not drive people away. In fact, the fruit that the Holy Spirit wants to grow in my life (Galatians 5: 22-23) are the very characteristics of a friendly person who draws people in such a way that they, too, will see the change that Christ is making and want Him to be their Savior. Let’s not be a “Harriet” today!

For today: May the difference Christ can make be clearly seen in our lives today.